Natalie Lambert was a patient woman.
She had worked diligently for years to find the key to mortality for Nick, had endured the anger and insults of Janette and Lacroix, but the biggest challenge of all was Maura Logue. Nick loved her beyond all reason, and her love for him insisted he was "nobody he shouldn't be". Still, Natalie (and Maura, most likely) knew that deep within him the longing for humanity, for mortality, still glimmered. It had lasted through some hideous disasters, the worst being the failed metabolic "cure" that had turned him into an abuser and rapist, at Maura's expense. Natalie was desperately sorry for that, and had almost convinced herself (and let Nick convince her) that the best way forward was to abandon the search. But she couldn't do that, in the end. The goal was too important, and Maura would agree once it was accomplished. So her scientific search had moved from the realm of conventional medicine to embrace homeopathy as well... her mistake had been, apparently, trying to "force" a change from the outside. The key was to find a way to work from within Nick's unique biology, so it would, in the end, evolve on its own. Natalie spent nearly a year (secretly... no need to upset everyone) going to classes to be certified in homeopathy. The things she had learned had made her more determined than ever to continue pursuing what had to be the path to Nick becoming mortal again.
What had happened several weeks ago in the loft was another mistake. Trusting in vampire legend instead of science, assuming that Nick could control himself with her because he could control himself with Maura, Natalie had embarked on a foolish enterprise that had damaged their friendship and helped to drive Nick away from Toronto. In retrospect it was obvious... Nick would not behave the same way with her as with Maura, because Maura wasn't a "true" mortal. Another lesson learned the hard way, never to be forgotten.
Yes, Natalie was a very patient woman. But at the moment she struggled to focus on the autopsy report in front of her, forcing herself not to look at her watch yet again. It had been dark for nearly an hour by her reckoning. Nick said he'd be arriving tonight but he didn't say precisely when. Even his rarefied vampire skills could not instantly transport him from one place to the other. He had to fly carefully, under the radar and beyond mortal sight, which could make things a little sticky and not exactly adhering to "as the crow flies."
She also was forcing herself not to rehearse what to say to him. If she did, she'd undoubtedly work in some subtle persuasion or hint of her recent work, and that would be a mistake. Nick had been away, in the company of the one person left who could ground him most firmly and securely in his vampire nature. It wasn't that Natalie believed Maura didn't have Nick's best interests at heart. She just didn't understand what they were.
And Natalie was the last person who would attempt to dissuade Nick from the relationship that had changed his life from a dark to a happier place. She really was. But if by some chance, someday, Nick should find himself turning toward another mortal, once he shared her own nature... well, that was a thought for another day. Natalie didn't want to hurt Maura, she honestly didn't. But life takes us in unexpected directions, and she was willing to go where it led her.